Finding Heart and Home
by E-lover21
Summary: At ten years old Axel witnessed something no kid should see. His father killing his mother then turning the gun to himself. After the death of their parents, twins Axel & Reno were put in the orphanage where they were later split. Since Axel left the orphanage at 18, he's been searching for his twin. With the help of a childhood friend, what was once an impossible task is complete.


**A/N: This was originally written for my Creative Writing class so the characters were all originally OC's so the descriptions have changed a bit in this but I may have missed things such as names and/or bit of descriptions but I've tried to keep them minimal. This is finished. There's no other chapters. And as of right now there's no sequels or prequels but if you would like a prequel or sequel let me know. I'd be glad to work on one. I love this story, it's like my little baby~**

**~*Alexis*~**

Axel laid in his bed, whimpering at the memories his nightmare was bringing him.

"_Daddy!" little ten year old Axel exclaimed as his father walked through the front door, a scowl on his face, not knowing any better, Axel ran to him anyway, extending his arms to ask for a hug. He was too dense and young to realize his father was in a bad mood. By the time his mother walking in the room to get him away from his father it was too late. His father slapped him clean across the face. In that hit, that first hit, the house began to crumble. Axel held his reddening cheek, tears stinging his emerald green eyes. "Daddy?" he whimpered. His father had never hit him or his younger twin brother Reno, a small disciplinary slap was as harsh as his father would act with the twins, but this hit was violent and harsh. It was hard enough to bruise his cheek._

"_Axel, go upstairs with Reno now," his mother said, her musical voice stern. He knew better than to argue with her when she spoke in such a tone. He rushed up the stairs, hiding behind a pillar halfway up so he could see and hear was happening but not be seen. "What are you doing?! You can't go around hitting your son! All he wanted was a hug and to greet his father!" his mother exclaimed in a hushed yell._

_His father glared at her, balling his hands into tight fists. "Shut up! Shut your damn mouth! I can't stand your voice!" he yelled loudly before stalking off to the kitchen._

_Axel's mother sighed and looked down at her shaking hands. She knew tonight would not end well. It was just another nightmare in the Lea household. Axel let out a small tear and finished going up the rest of the stairs in search of his brother. He found his brother right where he expected him to be, sprawled out on the floor in their shared bedroom, a coloring book in front of him. Axel plopped down next to him which made him look up. "Brother, what happened to your face?" Reno asked in a worried tone, bringing a hand up to stroke the slowly forming bruise. He was positive it wasn't there when they went their separate ways an hour ago._

_Axel gave his younger brother a small, reassuring smile. "Nothing Reno. Don't worry about it." But no matter how much he told his brother not to worry, Reno couldn't help but do exactly that._

_After half an hour of laughing and coloring, they heard their mother call up the stairs signaling dinner was ready. The twins rushed down the stairs pushing and shoving and arguing the whole way down the winding staircase and into the dining room, their mother let a musical laugh slip past her lips at their antics._

_Dinner passed and for a little while everything seemed as if it was okay again. That was until after dinner when they were washing plates together. As Reno went to hand his mother a wet plate, it slipped from his small, equally damp hands. The plate fell to the floor, smashing into a million tiny pieces. Their father shook with rage, scaring the twins. "I'm sorry!" Reno exclaimed with wide eyes. It wasn't like he had meant to break the dish._

"_Oh it wasn't your fault baby," the twin's mother said softly, bending down so she was eye level with the ten year old, a small smile playing on her lips and her red hair falling in her eyes._

"_Stop babying them!" the twin's father yelled angrily. "That's why they're the way they are! You baby them Sarah!" Their father, a man Axel used to admire, trust, and love had cracked. His green eyes that once held love now held nothing but fury._

"_David." Sarah sighed shaking her head. "We'll talk about this after the twins are asleep." She said angrily. She gently took her son's hands and led them upstairs. "Let's get you all cleaned up and ready for bed, hmm?" she smiled a kind smile and the twins visibly relaxed. They held the illusion everything would be okay again. Like it always was._

_By the time the twins were in their room, supposedly sleeping, a full blown war had started downstairs in the kitchen between their parents. After twenty minutes of listening to the yelling, screaming and smashing of things Axel couldn't take it anymore. He got out of his bed quietly so he wouldn't disturb his brother who he thought was asleep._

"_Axy, where are you going?" Reno asked in a worried whisper, sitting up in his bed._

"_Downstairs. I have to stop mommy and daddy from fighting." With that Axel slipped out of his room. Reno sighed heavily and got out of his bed following his older brother. He couldn't stand the idea of his brother going down there alone. The twins made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Axel's eyes widened when he saw their father holding a beer bottle tightly. His father and drinking was never a good match. "STOP!" Axel exclaimed, scaring both of his parents. "Stop! Stop fighting!" Axel yelled, tearing up. "Please," he whispered._

"_Why you little," their father started, even angrier than before. He walked over to Axel so he was standing in front of the boy. "I'll teach you to raise your voice at me." Axel's father said dangerously. He brought back the beer bottle and thrusted it down; with a sickening smash it broke on the side of Axel's face. The alcohol that was in the bottle stung his new cut and he let out a scream of pain._

"_Axy!" Reno exclaimed rushing to his twin's side. He looked at Axel whose face was bleeding profusely._

"_What the hell are you doing?!" Sarah yelled, tears falling from her eyes. She threw a plate at David, missing him by centimeters; she was outraged that one of her babies was hurt. Angered by this outburst David reached into his pocket. _

_A loud gunshot was the next thing they heard. It rang through the household, shattering what used to hold love. The twins heads snapped up and watched as their mother's crystal blue eyes went wide as she stumbled back, holding her bleeding chest. She fell to the floor, all the color draining from her skin; leaving her a pale lifeless body. Axel grabbed Reno and shielded his eyes to prevent him from seeing any more of this play out. Axel watched as his mother's once lively eyes dilated. His father watched with a cold look on his face, after a few long minutes, he slowly turned to Axel and brought the gun to his own head. In the murky green eyes that belonged to his father Axel finally saw him for the monster he was inside._

"_Say goodbye Axel." With that, their father pulled the trigger, Reno and Axel shook as another gunshot shook the house, Axel turned away and clutched at his twin, hiding his face in Reno's red hair, keeping his eyes away from the bloody scene._

_Axel sat there, his sobbing twin in his arms until the cops arrived a little while later. He figured the neighbors must have heard the gun shots and called the cops since Axel and Reno hadn't moved from the spot in the kitchen. As the cops burst through the door they had to pry the twins away from each other and lead them to the paramedics while trying to shield their eyes from the kitchen. The paramedics ruled the twins were fine and that Axel, the only one with visible wounds, would be fine and that there were no other wounds such as head trauma or broken bones. But what the paramedics forgot about was the broken hearts that lay in each twin's chest. It was outside that the cops informed them that since they have no living relatives they would have to be put in the orphanage where they would stay until they either got adopted or until they turned 18. Hearing that they could be split up, Reno let out more sobs while Axel just held him, letting the paramedics pull the glass from his cheek. Axel was too numb to feel anything; no tears fell from his eyes for the rest of the night. _

Axel jumped and sat up in his bed, his red hair sticking to his sweating neck. The skies were dark and the moon sat surrounded by clouds as Axel chased away the monster of his past, shaking his head he tried to rid himself of the painful memories. He looked out at the black sky wondering where his twin was and what he was doing; he let out a tear as he looked at the dull moon. "Reno…" he whispered with a sigh. "Where are you?" he asked to the still air that surrounded him. The only reply he got was the wind howling outside. Axel laid back down and closed his eyes he turned around so he was facing the wall instead of the empty open room. Sleep soon washed back over him, pulling him under the waves, and into a deep, restless sleep.

Later that morning, he woke up to the sound of his dog scratching and whining at his door. He sighed and got out of his bed. His feet hit the cold hardwood floor as he went to open his door, letting the big pit-bull tackle him to the ground. "Okay Terra, get off of me boy." Axel had to let out a small laugh as his dog lapped at his face with his long, wet tongue. Terra obeyed and got off him with one last lick before prancing to the living room to sleep on the big couch. Axel shook his head lightly, a smile playing at his lips and went to his dresser to get out of his sleep clothes and into his jogging clothes. He pulled off his t-shirt and boxers for them to be replaced with a loose tank top and running shorts. He walked into the living room and pulled his hair into a low pony tail so his hair wouldn't get in his face while running.

He kissed Terra on the head before slipping out the door. He let the hot sun soak his skin as he stretched out to feel more of its golden rays. He put his iPod buds in his ear and took off down the sidewalk for his ritual morning run. He ran to get his mind off things, to clear his mind, to escape his nightmares… to escape reality.

Every morning when he woke up he'd go for a run before returning home and working out in his basement. He was required to be strong, not just for his job but for his life. A long time ago he swore he would never be weak, not if he had any control over it. He hated to be weak. His father was weak when he killed his mother. His mother was weak when she was killed. Reno and Axel were weak when they were separated. Axel was weak when he lost Roxas. Axel was weak when he allowed himself to get abused in the orphanage. Hell, Axel was weak his whole life until he turned 18 and was able to do something about it. He refused to go back.

His run was over just as quickly as it started. He let out a sigh, wiping the sweat off his brow as he walked into the cool air conditioned home.

"Hey baby." Axel spoke to Terra who was wagging his tail as he walked through the door. Axel bent down and got on his knees, so he was eye level with Terra. He petted the dog's soft brindle pattern fur. The mutts tongue darted out and licked his face making him laugh softly. "I love you too boy." With that he stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge before opening the door to the cool basement. He turned on the lights before venturing down the old wooden staircase. The clip clap of Terra's nails could be heard as the dog followed down the steps. Axel sat the water bottle on the floor before walking to his weight lifting bench. He picked up the heaviest weight he could handle and started on his bicep curls.

He continued to work on his biceps until there was a sharp sting pinging up and down his arms. With a groan he put the weights away. He draped a towel around his sweaty neck and relaxed as he took a huge gulp of his water. After his breathing was normal again he started u-p the stairs going to the kitchen to start his lunch, even though it was well past noon. He made what he always made for lunch; soup. He never was a big eater. He could eat a small meal and be full until nighttime. This is probably why he was so skinny.

As he ate he read the newspaper. He read about shootings and muggings, suicide and deaths. He read with a disgusted look on his face. He hated the news; such a depressing thing. He shook his head as he read about a twelve year old who got killed in an ally after being molested. _This world is going to hell. _He thought bitterly, putting down the newspaper. He finished what was left of his soup and went upstairs to his room. On his way up he passed pictures of he and Reno and photos of his mother. He opened his bedroom door and laid down on his bed, looking at the one lone picture on his night stand. In the picture, Reno and Axel were hugging their mother tightly. Their mother's sapphire eyes carefree and loving. The twins' emerald eyes full of childish mischief and laughter. Axel missed those days. He missed the sound of his mother's laughter, the smell of her cooking, the feel of her hugs, and the comforting feeling he would get from her vanilla perfume. He missed her warm eyes, fiery red hair, pale milky white skin and her warm gentle loving hands. He missed her; period. Axel sighed and shut his eyes. What he thought was a short five minute nap was actually a couple hour nap. He woke up and stretched looking at the clock that read 4:30. He groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 4:30 was a lot later than he had planned to wake up. He got out of bed and grabbed his laptop, quickly turning it on. Once his computer was on and the web browser was open he went to a search engine and typed in his brother's name.

"This is so stupid. He could have changed his name or something! Of course his last name would be different since he got adopted. God dammit. The stupid orphanage should have at least let me look at his damned file! I'm his twin!" Axel said to himself waiting for his slow computer to load the results. He tapped his fingers impatiently until the pages finally loaded and he was able to scroll through them. He didn't find anything he didn't already know about. There were a bunch of old newspaper articles bolded on the page 'Axel and Reno Lea, Orphans.' he slowed down, the titles jumping out at him. 'Sara Lea, Dead.' 'David Lea, suicide.' Every title made Axel's stomach churn. Slamming his computer's top shut he let out a low, frustrated growl. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and fought back the tears that were stinging his eyes. Every day it was the same, he'd search his brother's name online, only to find old newspaper articles that reminded him of the time he was weak and forced him to fight off his tears. Every fucking day it was the same. He got up and punched the wall. The tears escaping his pained emerald eyes.

His watch beeped, reminding him he had an hour to get to work. He walked into the kitchen and picked up the dog's food bowl. He whistled for Terra to come and got the food out of the closet and poured it into the bowl. The dog came running. Axel put the dish on the floor. "You be good while I go feed your brother, ok?" with a kiss to the mutts head he went to the living room where his ferret lived.

"Hey buddy, how are you Brewster?" he smiled as the creature made small noises. Reaching into the cage he took the bowl to fill it up so Brewster would have enough food for the rest of the night and tomorrow. Making sure Terra had water Axel headed up the stairs to get ready for work. He buttoned up his crisp white shirt and pulled on his black skinny jeans. Quickly he walked out of the house, locking the door behind him, and slipping into his black Malibu. Turning on the old car he headed to the small towns bar.

He watched the road as he passed through the town, he loved the small cozy feeling he got from the town, even though it was small. In fact, he liked it that way. As the song on the radio switched, Axel found himself thinking about his twin. He couldn't help his mind from wandering to what could have happened to him after he was adopted; he tried to think of positive things that could have happened. He liked to think his baby brother finished high school, went to college, became a doctor or an accountant or something like that. It pained him to think of someone, anyone, possibly hurting his twin without him being there to protect him and save him. Every night Axel would lay in his small bed and think of his twin, wondering if his twin ever thought about him. And sometimes, amongst the thinking and wondering, if he would think about his twin long enough, he would feel something in his chest by his heart. Not pain, not love, not hate, but longing, loneliness, but Axel knew it didn't belong to _his_ heart, it was someone else's. He knew, or at least hoped, it was Reno thinking about him.

Axel slowly pulled into the parking lot to his work and got out, trudging inside, as usual he was five minutes early. He gave his boss his best fake smile and prayed he'd be able to make it through the night. The bar was always full of angry, drunk men who liked to start trouble, Axel of course, having to be careful because he couldn't afford to get in trouble again, would walk away, but it was hard to escape the crowd when you're stuck behind the bar.

Surprisingly there were a lot of woman and gay guys there that night, Axel smirked, 'Which one, which one?' Axel thought to himself looking over the sea of people from behind the bar.

His eyes landed on a blonde haired beauty with beautiful cyan eyes. The boy was tall, not as tall as Axel, but tall. The cyan eyes were outlined in light black eyeliner. The blonde hair styled into a mullet which actually worked very well with his character. Axel smirked. His pick was made. Now he had to wait. He kept watching the guy out of the corner of his eye and in fifteen minutes the guy walked over to him; giving him a wide smile. They stood there talking for twenty minutes until the customers were threatening to tell the boss that Axel was ignoring them. Finally he went to do his job in getting other people their drinks. "Will you be here all night?" Axel asked him with a charming, seductive smile.

The boy nodded. "Of course." He answered, leaning on the bar a little.

Axel grinned, this was just too easy. "Wanna come back to my place?" he asked with a wink, his tone seductive, luring the boy in.

The young boy shivered slightly as the tone went straight to his groin. "But… you don't even know my name," the boy weakly argued trying to show Axel he wasn't easy.

"Just tell me your name baby, I'll commit it to memory."

The boy giggled and leaned in, making Axel follow his movement. "It's Demyx." Demyx whispered in Axel's ear lustfully. Before pulling away, Demyx stuck his tongue out to lick and nibble the shell of his ear, making him shudder.

Axel closed his eyes for a moment before smiling. "I get off at one. Meet me by the door?" Axel asked.

Demyx nodded and took a sip of his drink. "You can count on it." With one final wink he walked away and Axel let out a content sigh. Finally he was having some fun.

The rest of the evening passed rather quickly, in fact, before he even knew it, it was one. Axel smiled and punched out before he walked to the door. He saw Demyx standing there; waiting. With one of his long legs on the wall, his back leaning against it, his head resting on it. Upon noticing Axel, Demyx smiled and pushed off of the wall with the foot that was perched and met him halfway. Axel pulled him into a hard, heated kiss. As Axel slowly pulled away Demyx seemed dazed, even more so as he followed Axel to the car.

The short drive Axel took every night suddenly seemed to take forever. But once his small house came into view, the more eager the two got. As Axel pulled in his driveway and parked the car, he leaned over the middle compartment and kissed Demyx's neck, nibbling it teasingly. "Come catch me." Axel got out of the car and walked slowly, tauntingly slow, swishing his thin hips from side to side. Showing off his perfectly sculpted bum. His body was calling Demyx, no, luring Demyx to follow. Demyx, of course followed, and once they were both inside with the door closed behind them, Axel pushed him against the wall and kissed him fiercely. Taken aback at first, Demyx's eyes opened wide, until slowly, as the kiss got more heated, he closed them and kissed back. They made their way to Axel's bedroom, getting rid of all unnecessary things, such as shoes and shirts, and pants; of course the pants were gone. Leaving a trail of clothes from the living room to Axel's room, they fell onto the bed.

Demyx gasped when Axel rubbed their groins together, their hips moving in sync. Axel's lips moved from the blonde's lips down to his neck and nibbled on it before sucking, leaving a dark hickie. He moaned when Demyx switched their positions and straddled him. "Fuck me," he whispered as he rubbed against him more.

Axel nodded with a sly smirk, his Cheshire Cat eyes gleaming. He positioned Demyx and helped him slide down on his large cock. Axel groaned out loud. Demyx was unbelievably tight, it felt wonderful. When Demyx was fully seated on his dick, he let him rest and adjust before sliding Demyx up again to thrust into him.

As the pace increased, their cries of pleasure grew louder until Axel couldn't take being on bottom anymore and flipped them without pulling out of him. He pounded into Demyx's tight ass, hitting the blonde's prostate with much force each time to send pleasure tingling up his spine.

"Oh God! Axel! I'm not going to last much longer."

Axel moaned and nodded. "Cum baby. Cum for me." He continued to slam into him until Demyx let out a loud screech and tightened down on him as he came hard. Axel was not much further behind.

The next morning Axel woke up to the sound on birds chirping loudly outside his window and his dog barking at passing cars. He looked to his right and saw a tangled mess of blonde hair. He smiled remembering the previous night's events and ran a hand through Demyx's tangled hair. "Demyx?" he asked softly, sleep lacing his voice. "Dem," he said again, managing to get the beautiful cyan eyes to open. Demyx sat up quickly and looked at Axel.

"Oh scheiße, what time is it?" Demyx asked tiredly.

"Uh," Axel checked the clock on his bedside table and read the big red glowing numbers. "8:09am." He answered.

Demyx seemed to snap to life. "Crap! I have to go! I promised Cloud I'd be back by 9:30!" He gathered up his clothes. Axel followed him to say goodbye to the departing Demyx. "Last night was amazing by the way!" the thin figure called over his shoulder before shutting the door. Axel smirked and shook his head softly.

After Demyx left, Axel decided to take a walk through the town instead of a run. He grabbed his keys and cell phone before walking out the door. As he started for the center of town, he realized he forgot his iPod. Ignoring it, he decided to think. He was deep in thought, thinking about going back to the orphanage to try and get any information out of them, hopefully last names when he heard a scream as he passed an alleyway. Jumping out of his thoughts and into action, he rushed towards the alleyway. He heard yet another scream that was accompanied by a groan of pain. As he got to the source of the sounds, he saw a blonde boy with striking blue eyes being held by two guys while one big guy punched him in the stomach, then the face, then he repeated his brutal attacks. "Hey!" Axel called, getting everyone's attention.

The big guy delivered one last punch to the blonde before walking over to Axel. Axel glared at the man who appeared to be stronger than he. This is a time when he was glad he worked out so much. "Leave him alone." Axel snarled at the man.

The man and his lackeys barked out a laugh. "And what are you going to do pipsqueak?" the leader shoved Axel, not anticipating the strength he truly had.

"I think you know what I'm going to do." With that Axel punched the guy in the face. He could clearly see the anger in the man increase and boil in his blood, rising to his skin. The man threw a punch that Axel easily dodged. Axel kicked him in the back of the knees making him fall to the ground in a heap like a building that was collapsing. Axel grabbed at his hair, pulling off his hat in the process, and threw him into the brick wall behind them with a sickening thud. Wide eyed, his two lackeys rushed over to him, allowing the blonde fall to the floor.

Axel rushed over to the boy. "Hey kid, are you okay?" he asked lifting the boy up a bit. The blonde looked at him and gave him a bloody smile. Axel looked at the boy in shock, letting the features sink in, the smile, though bloody, would always be burned into his memory, the piercing blue eyes looked at him, as if looking into his soul. "R… Roxas?" he managed to stutter out.

The blonde nodded and stared at Axel, Axel stared back, memories of the times he and blonde spent together; the lake they would swim in every summer, the clearing in the forest they would visit every spring that only they knew about because it held some of the most beautiful flowers they had ever seen, the frozen pond they would go to every winter just to watch the sunset shine like fire on the glistening ice, the park they would visit every fall to plan out their Halloween costumes, everything, everything they ever did together floated around inside Axel's head, playing like a movie on the projection screen.

"_Hey, Ax?" Roxas whispered, looking up at the sky, the shining stars glittering in his irises._

"_Yeah Roxy?"_

"_Do you promise that you, me and Re will be best friends forever? No matter what?"_

_Axel looked over at his friend, his friend never asked such weird and random questions like this one. Roxas looked back at his friend, fresh, unshed tears creating a film over her blue eyes. "Of course we will, Roxas. Don't even think about that. You know we'll always be your best friends."_

_Roxas nodded and moved closer to Axel, resting his head on the boys chest. "I love you Ax."_

_Axel kissed the top of Roxas' head. "I love you too Roxy."_

Axel snapped out of his memory when he heard a groan. "Are you okay?" Axel asked noticing the look on Roxas' face. Almost as soon as he finished the sentence Roxas went limp in his. "Roxas!" Axel called trying to wake up his friend. After a few moments of trying Axel picked up Roxas carefully and started walking back to his house. There he would lay Roxas down on the couch and wait for him to wake up.

As Axel got through the door he shooed Terra off the couch and laid Roxas down, wrapping a blanket around him before disappearing into the kitchen for a wet cloth. Axel placed the cloth on Roxas' forehead and waited about half an hour for him to wake up.

When Roxas finally woke up Axel gave him a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a truck hit me… Axel, what am I doing here?" Roxas asked putting a hand on his forehead, hoping it would stop the throbbing.

"I found you down an alley getting beat up by two guys and a girl. So I threw the one punching you into a brick wall and carried you to my home when you fainted." Axel said softly.

"Fuck, Ax, do you know what you've just done?" Roxas looked up, fear in his eyes.

"Saved your life?" Axel looked at Roxas with a confused expression.

"No! Ended it!" Roxas sat up, holding his pounding head, "When Seifer finds me… fuck." Roxas squeezed his eyes shut trying not to think.

"Seifer..? You knew those guys!?"

"Yes!" Roxas sighed. "A few years ago I got involved in drugs. He was my dealer. He wanted his money; money I didn't have."

"Drugs...?" Axel stood up. "DRUGS!? ARE YOU INSANE!?" Axel's eyes were wide. Roxas, the kid he grew up with, the kid he loved, was doing drugs. He couldn't believe it. He _wouldn't_ believe it.

Roxas let out a bitter laugh. "Ax, you don't get it. My life is fucked up."

"Your life is fucked up?" Axel looked at Roxas incredulously. "_Your life_!? What about mine Roxas!? I watched my father kill my mother! I was hit upside the head with a beer bottle giving me this scar!" Axel pointed to the scar on his face. "I watched my brother be taken out of my life! Talk about a fucked up life! But you don't see me turning to drugs do you?! No! I'm trying to do something with my life and make it better!"

Roxas looked at Axel with a kicked puppy look. "I'm sorry Ax, I never really… thought of it like that." Axel shook his head. "I'm sorry. Truly I am."

"It's whatever man." Axel sighed and looked at his best friend. "Just stop doing drugs."

Roxas nodded. "Fine, fine, I will. For you I will try." He had been thinking of stopping anyway. Since drugs had gotten him in such big trouble. He knew it would be hard, but he would try for Axel.

Axel sighed and looked at Roxas. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Well… I do but…" Roxas trailed off and Axel nodded, understanding.

"You'll stay here ok?"

"What… Ax, are you sure?"

Axel looked at Roxas seriously. "I'm positive."

Roxas smiled a little and hugged Axel tightly. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome Roxas." Axel hugged him back tightly and refused to let go.

"Uh, Ax, you can let go now…" Roxas said with a little smile.

"I don't want to, not yet." Axel buried his face in the crook of Roxas' neck.

"Alright." Roxas didn't question him and just kept his arms around Axel. "Ax, what happened to Reno?"

Axel's grip on Roxas loosened. "He was adopted… I haven't talked to him since he was taken…"

"He never tried to contact you?" Roxas was shocked. That wasn't like Reno at all, Reno would never let anyone separate he and his brother.

"I don't know if he did. My guess is the orphanage kept it from me. They hated our relationship. They said it wasn't normal for us to depend on each other like we did. And after I left the orphanage, how would he know where I live? The orphanage made sure we'd never contact each other again. They won't even tell me who adopted him." Axel sighed and let go of Roxas. He looked at his watch and swore. "Fuck, I have to go to work. Will you feed my dog and ferret for me?" Axel asked as he rushed up the stairs to get dressed.

"Sure."

Axel pulled on a black button up shirt, much similar to his white one and pulled on regular blue skinny jeans. He ran a brush through his hair before deeming himself ready. "Bye Roxas. I'll be home at one. If you want you can come to the bar, it's the only local one about twenty minutes away, okay?" Axel saw Roxas nod and walked out the door to his car. He got in and drove off; a sense of happiness fell over him.

He couldn't remember the last time he saw Roxas. God, it had to have been years ago! They were still in contact while Axel and Reno were in the adoption home but shortly before Reno was adopted, Roxas stopped coming by. Axel always wondered why. He wondered why God was making him lose everyone he ever cared about. He couldn't understand what he had done wrong.

As Axel pulled into the parking lot, he noticed right away just how packed it already was and knew tonight was not going to go well. He sighed and got out of his car. Rushing up the stone pathway and up the cold stairs, he said hi to his boss and got to work. There was no one there he wanted to see, in fact, he only wanted to see one person and he was back at the house.

Halfway through his shift Axel's head shot up at the sound of yelling and screaming. At the end of the bar two boys were arguing. Axel saw the muscles in one of the man's hand move as it tightened around a beer bottle. "No…" Axel whispered as he walked over. "Hey! Cut it out!"

The men didn't listen because they were still yelling at each other, and finally, the beer bottle was swung. It hit the short slate haired man on the top of the head. The man with the beer bottle didn't stop there. No, he continued to hit the man until he was on the floor unconscious, Axel rushed out from behind the bar and pulled the conscious man away. "SECURITY!" Axel screamed at the top of his lungs trying to get their attention over the loud music. He tried to fight off the memories and flash backs while holding the man back.

"Zexion!" Axel's head snapped up at the familiar voice. He saw Demyx standing there. "Oh my God, Zexion! Wake up! Leon! Zexion is unconscious!" another man, who Axel assumed was Leon rushed over.

"Fuck, I'll call 911." Leon rushed out the door, dialing the number as fast as he could.

"Demyx! This is your friend?"

Demyx looked up and saw Axel. He nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Do you know who this is?" To show who he was talking about he shoved the guy a little.

Demyx nodded again. "He's some kid from our old school who used to bully us. I don't know how he found us or recognized us."

"It's not hard to recognize you fags!" The man spit.

Axel slapped the man on the back of the head. "Shut up!" Axel growled before looking back at Demyx. "Please go get security." Demyx nodded and rushed off quickly.

The sound of sirens could be heard as Axel waited for the paramedics and police to arrive. Something like this hasn't happened in a while, though it wasn't surprising with how packed it was tonight.

After explaining to the cops what he saw, Axel was allowed to go. He went to the back room and put his head in his hands. He felt queasy. He shut his eyes and was transported somewhere else.

"_Who are you?" fifteen year old Axel asked, stepping in front of his twin as an older couple walked in the twin's room in the adoption home._

"_They're here to talk to your brother." Their 'care taker' said pushing Axel away. _

"_What they have to tell my brother they can tell to me." Axel argued and pulled his twin behind him._

"_I told you he was trouble," the lady who took care of the kids whispered to the couple. She took Axel's arm and pulled him away. "Don't mess this up for your brother. Just because you're a disgrace!" she said lowly once they were outside of the room and slapped him across the face. Tears fell from his eyes as he watched the couple talk to his brother. He could see he was nervous but he was acting as sweet as always. This is why Axel would never be adopted, he couldn't be sweet. He watched through the window for fifteen minutes until finally the couple smiled and walked out of the room. They walked over to the lady. "Well?"_

"_He's the one. But can we really split up the twins?"_

"_Oh yes, and trust me, that one," she pointed to Axel. "Is trouble, you don't want him anyway."_

_The couple nodded. "How soon can we take Reno?" _

"_Come back tomorrow and everything will be ready for you."_

_The couple nodded again and thanked her sweetly. As soon as they were gone she walked over to Axel. "You hear that?" she smirked. "You'll never see him again. He's leaving. Just like everyone else."_

_Axel shook his head and ran back to his twin, crying. He pulled Reno into a tight hug and told him they were being torn apart. Reno sobbed along with him._

"Axel! Axel!" Axel snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his boss. "Axel!"

"What?" Axel asked tiredly.

"Are you okay?" She asked sitting next to him.

Axel shook his head. "No..."

She sighed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Go home boy. Get some rest."

"But I need the money. I only worked three hours tonight!"

"I know, but don't worry about it. Just get better okay?"

"But Kairi, the money…" Axel started.

Kairi shook her head. "Axel, don't worry about the money. I'll take care of it."

Axel sighed but nodded. "Alright."

"Thank you, now go." Kairi smiled and gave Axel a small playful shove, feeling happy when he gave her a shoulder bump back and offered a small smile.

"I'll see you Monday Kai." Axel grabbed his coat and walked out of the back room.

"Such a good kid…" Kairi said to herself before going to take his place behind the counter.

Axel drove home slowly and watched the street signs pass by. He knew his life was going to change now that Roxas was back in it, but what he didn't know was how it was going to change. It scared him a little. Would it be better now that he had his old friend back and now a possibility of tying up loose ends from the past? He couldn't figure it out. It was the uncertainty that scared him.

When Axel arrived home, he certainly wasn't expecting to see what he saw as he walked through the front door. "Roxas what are you doing?" he asked baffled.

"Helping you." Roxas put the pen he was using to write with in his mouth as he dialed the phone with one hand and typed on Axel's laptop with the other.

"Helping me what? Kill trees? It looks like, like I don't even know what, in here." Axel looked at the floor of the living room that was covered with paper.

"I'm helping you find your brother." Roxas said he waited for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up. "Hi, yes, I need the information of Reno Lea." Roxas nodded his head and Axel stood in shock. "Alright, Cathy Leonhart? No, that's all. Thank you very much." Roxas hung up and scribbled something down before turning to Axel with a grin that looked like it belonged to someone who just won the lottery.

"Roxas, what did you do?" Axel looked at his friend with a look of curiosity, fear, and anxiety. Had he really found out who adopted Reno?

"I found him! Or, rather, found who adopted him." Roxas handed Axel the piece of paper that clearly read the name and address of Cathy Leonhart. "We can go tomorrow if you'd like… they're not in Berlin though. We have to go to Halle."

Axel looked up from the paper. "That's going to take more than two hours to get there…"

Roxas shrugged. "_I_ don't have anything better to do. Do you?"

Axel shook his head. Nothing was better, or more important than finally seeing his baby brother again. "No."

"Then get some rest. Tomorrow, we head out at noon." Roxas smiled warmly at Axel before going up the stairs and to the guest bedroom.

Axel sighed. He couldn't believe he was going to see his baby brother again after eight years. Would Reno want to see him? Would Reno recognize him? Would they still look the same? Would they still have that bond? Has Reno even missed him? Axel walked to the kitchen to grab something to eat while these thoughts plagued his mind. He couldn't wait to see his twin again, but it has been eight years. Would it be the same Reno he used to know?

As he slowly ate, Roxas watched him from the top step. He hated to see his friend in such moods; he thought Axel would be happier to know he would see his twin again. But at the same time, he should have anticipated this mixed reaction, especially from someone like Axel.

Axel never really took the news how one usually would. He would never take news just one certain way. He would always have a mixed reaction. As Axel sighed and put his dishes in the sink, Roxas ran to his room silently. He had just shut the door as Axel started up the stairs. "Goodnight Roxy." Axel called to his friend.

"Goodnight Ax." Roxas called back, trying to sound sleepy.

Axel shut his door and laid on his bed. He closed his eyes to try to sleep, but there was a war raging inside his mind. He tossed and turned until finally he fell asleep into a restless sleep.

Sunlight was peeking in through the blinds. It was 11:30am and Roxas shook his sleep deprived friend awake. "Axel!"

Axel groaned. "Whhhaaatttt?" he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

"Get up! Or do you not want to see Reno?" Roxas poked Axel in the side.

"Reno?" Axel asked sleepily before jolting up in bed. "Reno!"

"Yes, get dressed and eat something. We leave in twenty minutes." Roxas smiled and patted Axel on the head before walking out of the room. "Oh, I fed Terra and Brewster for you." Roxas called over his shoulder before shutting the door.

Axel shut his eyes once more before swinging his feet over the side of the bed and dragging them to the dresser. He threw on a random shirt before walking downstairs. The smell of waffles invaded his nose. "Roxas..?"

"What's up?" Roxas asked from the living room where he was playing with Terra.

"You made breakfast?" Axel picked up a waffle off the plate and nibbled at it. It's been a while since he'd had breakfast.

"Uh, if you call throwing Eggos into a toaster making breakfast, then yes."

Axel laughed a little. He picked up another Eggo and looked at the clock. "When are we leaving?"

"Uh, right now. If you're ready," Roxas said walking into the kitchen. "You may want to brush your hair first…" Roxas let out a small laugh.

Axel looked at his reflection in the microwave door and laughed too. "Good suggestion."

"Well get a move on then!" Roxas gave his friend a smile before walking out of the kitchen to play with the dog again.

Axel made his way upstairs. Things definitely changed. Somehow, even in the short amount of time that Roxas has been back in his life, everything was different. Roxas was able to do what Axel couldn't. Roxas was able to find Reno and get Axel out of the funk he was in. Even his daily routines were messed up. And yet, Axel was still in a comfort zone. Axel brought the brush through his red hair as he thought about everything.

A loud crash was heard from downstairs as Axel put down the brush. He creased his forehead and walked downstairs. "Roxy, what was that?"

"Uh… nothing!" Roxas lied.

"Don't lie to me Roxas." Axel walked into the living room to see Terra pinning Roxas to the carpet and a broken vase lying broken on the floor. He shook his head. "I don't even want to know." Axel snapped his fingers, successfully getting Terra off of Roxas. "Start the car, I'll be right there. I just have to clean the glass." Roxas nodded and walked out of the house as he went to the closet by the living room, getting out a broom and dustpan. Once he was sure all the glass was up, he threw it in the trash and walked out to his car. He sat in the passenger seat next to Roxas.

"Are you excited?" Roxas asked as he pulled out into the street, starting down the small road.

"I don't think excited is exactly the right word…" Axel started.

"Then what is the right word?"

Axel was silent before letting out a sigh and shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know," he sighed again. "I'm excited, but nervous, sad, but happy. I don't know."

"So… you're undecided? As usual?" Roxas joked a bit, shoving his friend as they came to a red light.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Roxas," Axel rolled his eyes but shoved Roxas right back.

The two hour drive carried on in similar ways; just the two of them laughing and joking around. They barely noticed how long of a drive it was until they reached a diner. "Hey, can we stop for a bite to eat?" Roxas asked.

"Yes, please," Axel smiled as his tummy rumbled.

Roxas pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. The two friends made their way inside the small restaurant. It was small but cozy and the place was very nicely decorated. As Roxas and Axel took their seats, Axel bumped into a tall blonde with blue eyes who reminded him of Roxas.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time, smiling a little after they noticed it. Axel sat down at the booth where Roxas was.

"This place is nice, no?" Roxas asked noticing his friend had sat down.

Axel nodded and looked over the menu. "Cheap too."

Roxas let out a laugh and put down the menu, deciding what he wanted to order. "Do you know what you want yet?"

"Yeah, just sausage."

"That's it? Are you sure?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah, even though I'm hungry, I feel if I were to eat too much I'd get sick. My stomach is in knots as it is."

Roxas nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry Ax."

"Nah, don't be. It's fine." Axel smiled as their waitress came over to take their order.

After they placed their orders they sat there chatting until their food came. They ate in silence, but a peaceful silence. It wasn't that they didn't know what to say, it was just they didn't have to say anything at this moment. They already knew what they were thinking. It wasn't until they were waiting for the bill that they decided to speak up. "Roxy…?"

"Yeah Ax?"

"I'm scared."

Roxas looked at his friend and his features softened. "Oh Axel," Roxas pulled Axel into a tight hug, rubbing his back. "Don't be scared okay? Everything will be fine. I bet Reno will be so excited to see you again."

"What if… what if he doesn't want to see me?"

"Don't say that Axel! You're his twin! He probably wants to see you as much as you want to see him."

"Then why didn't he try to contact me? Even while I was in the orphanage I never got a call or letter, nothing."

"Maybe he did but you never got them. You said yourself how the orphanage tried to keep you two apart."

"I suppose…"

"Hey, look at me," Axel looked up at Roxas and Roxas cupped the side of his face. "From birth to death your destinies have, and will be, intertwined. You will be a part of each other's lives forever, no matter what. Even though you two have been apart for a while, you will meet up again, and look, we're going to see him. You and Reno will never truly be rid of each other. I promise."

Axel gave his friend a thankful smile. "Thank you Roxas."

"Trust me, it was my pleasure," Roxas smiled and leaned in to kiss Axel on the cheek. Noticing this, however, Axel skillfully moved his face slyly so his lips met with Roxas', surprisingly Roxas didn't pull away, instead, the kiss deepened. When they eventually pulled away Axel smiled breathlessly at Roxas.

"Where did that come from?" Axel asked.

"Years and years of waiting but never having the courage to do it…" Roxas answered with a blush and looked down at the floor.

"Really?"

Roxas nodded. "I've liked you since we were kids…" Roxas' blush deepened.

Axel smiled and lifted Roxas' head. "So have I." Axel pressed a short kiss on Roxas' lips before pulling away.

Roxas smiled and hugged Axel tightly. They continued to hug until the waitress cleared her throat, signaling she was there with the bill. Roxas pulled away and smiled at the waitress taking the bill. "Thank you." She smiled at them before walking away. It was unclear of if she was uncomfortable or amazed by what she had just witnessed.

Axel took out his wallet and left the money on the table before reaching out and taking Roxas' hand. "Let's go see my brother, hmm?"

Seeing Axel so happy made Roxas smile. "Yeah, let's go."

They walked out to the car hand in hand and got in. This time Axel was in the driver's seat. "Read me the directions okay?"

Roxas nodded. "Okay, can do."

Axel smiled and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. It took another half hour until they reached the Listing household. As Axel parked the car, he made no movement to get out. He sat there holding the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

"Axel, you're going to have to go there eventually."

"I know… but…" Axel sighed.

"Don't you dare back out now, because Ax, as much as I love you, I will kick your ass right now."

"No. I'm not backing out… just having second thoughts…"

"Like that's much different. Come on Axel, let's go. The sooner you see him, the sooner you find out the answers to your questions."

Axel let that sink into his head and realized Roxas was right, sitting in the car across from where his twin was would do nothing for him. If he went up there and found out Reno wanted nothing to do with him, then at least he would have answers, closure, something concrete. And maybe he would be able to sleep easier at night. "You're right." Axel shut off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"When am I not?" Roxas asked sarcastically, undoing his seatbelt as well.

Axel let out a small laugh and got out of the car, crossing the small street. He looked at the house again. It was a small house; looked to be two stories. It was nice from the outside, plain white vinyl siding, the shutters were a nice maroon color; the trimming was maroon to match. The lawn was carefully taken care of. No blade of grass was taller than the other and the whole lawn was the same nice, rich, healthy green. The garden that stood under a long window was neatly taken care of, no weed could be seen. From the outside Axel could tell the Leonhart's liked to keep up appearances. Taking a deep breath Axel walked up the walkway and knocked on the door. He gulped as the door opened to reveal the blue eyed man he bumped into at the diner.

"Are you stalking me?" the blonde asked with an arched eyebrow.

"What? Uh… no. I was just… uh…" Axel looked back at the car and Roxas could tell he was struggling.

"Just what? Come on, spit it out."

"I was looking for Reno…"

"Reno?"

"Uh… yeah… do I have the wrong address?"

"Cloud, come on stop harassing the boy." A boy with long chestnut hair pushed the blonde out of the way. "Wait, aren't you the bar tender from last night?"

"Aren't you Demyx's friend?"

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Leon sighed. "So who is it you're looking for?"

"Reno…"

"My little brother?"

Axel bit his tongue hard to keep from correcting him and just nodded, not trusting his words.

"What do you want with him?"

"I've been looking for him for a long time, please, can I see him?"

Leon sighed but nodded. "Cloud, go get Reno please."

Cloud mumbled something but went up the stairs. Leon leaned against the door frame.

"So, why are you looking for him?"

"He's my twin brother."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "You're the problem twin?"

Axel sighed. "I am not the problem twin. Neither of us are. The orphanage just said that to keep me and Reno apart."

Leon nodded. "I believe you. It may be because Demyx claims you're a great person and from what Reno has told me about you, you're a great brother."

Axel looked up, his eyes shining with hope. "Reno talks about me?"

Leon smiled at the light that came to Axel's eyes. "Yeah, all the time. He really misses you. He's tried to contact you a couple of times but the orphanage never told him anything. And every time he would send you a letter it would come back unread. Poor kid gave up trying. He thought you didn't want anything to do with him anymore. I have to say, I always held a grudge against you for that, but knowing the background, not so much."

Demyx poked his head out the door and squealed. "Zexy! Come here!" The door opened wider and Demyx dragged the slate haired man that was abused the previous night over. "Zexion, this is Axel, the guy that helped you yesterday. Axel, this is my _boyfriend _Zexion. Gah! I love saying that!" He smiled bubbly. "We got together yesterday! How awesome is that?! Unfortunately the celebration was short lived." He pouted and leaned into Zexion who sighed softly.

"Thank you, Axel for last night. Now, Dem, I think we should go back to what we were doing."

Demyx nodded with wide, happy eyes. "Okay! Let's go!" He pulled him away and Leon closed the door slightly again but not as closed as before.

"They've been crushing on each other for years. After Dem slept with you, Zexion was pissed and confronted him with his feelings. So, you kinda helped them get together."

"Leon, Cloud said there was someone at the door for me, who is it?" A voice from the other end of the room asked.

Axel could easily recognize the voice. It hadn't changed much. It was still his twin's voice. He didn't bother to hide the tears that began to sting his eyes.

"Come see for yourself Reno."

A boy walked to the door, his green eyes were a lot duller than Axel could remember. His hair was still the vibrant red he remembered though. "Eno... you grew out your hair…" The last time Axel saw his twin, his twin's hair barely reached his shoulders. Now it was well down his back; even in a ponytail.

The boy's eyes immediately lit up when he heard 'Eno' pass through the man's lips. Only one person in the world called him Eno; his twin brother. "Axy…?" Axel nodded and Reno rushed to him, throwing his arms around him, knocking him off balance. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"You have no idea how long I've spent looking for you Eno!" Axel tightened his grip on his twin. "If not for Roxas, I wouldn't be here right now… I'd probably be in my house searching online even though it'd be pointless."

"Roxas is here too?"

Axel nodded and pointed to the car that Roxas was now leaning against. "Right there."

Reno smiled and waved to his old friend. Seeing him wave, Roxas waved back, a huge smile on his face. "Oh, Axy, you never got at least one of my letters?"

Axel shook his head. "Not one."

Reno sighed. "I figured. I have something for you. I was saving it for when we would meet up again because I knew we would. I'll be right back." Axel nodded and Reno went back up the stairs before coming down five minutes later, he handed Axel a worn out piece of paper. "It's really worn out. I wrote it a while ago and I would read it every night before going to bed. But it's for you."

Axel took the piece of paper and opened it carefully, looking at the scribble on the worn down page, it was obvious he wrote this when he was younger. He read the words on the paper.

_Axy, wherever you are, I will be thinking of you_

_I pray, as do you, for our sorrows to end,_

_And one day they will._

_All it takes it starting a new journey._

_And who knows, it may not be so hard._

_In fact, maybe this time apart is just the beginning of the journey._

_There are many countries, cities, and towns,_

_But they each share the same sky._

_Just like us._

_We are many alike and different._

_But we share the same destiny._

_Same sky, same destiny._

_Axy, I love you, never forget that._

Axel looked up with tears in his eyes. "Oh Eno." Axel pulled his twin in for a tight hug as he freely let his tears slide down his cheeks, Reno doing the same.

Axel shut his eyes and buried his face in his brother's hair. He didn't know what was going to happen from here on out. He didn't know what to expect, but one thing he did know, as long as he had Reno and Roxas by his side, he would always be able to smile. He will always be happy. He would never be alone again. And that, he realized, is all he was ever searching for.


End file.
